Cyber attacks in agriculture: protecting your farm and small business with cyberbiosecurity

Abstract

In the last decades, computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, as well as other technological devices and the internet, became of great importance in our modern lives and have been supporting the development of diverse agribusinesses worldwide. The use of computer-controlled machines, autonomous vehicles, robots, drones, cameras, sensors, wireless networks, and smart technology, for example, has led to major changes in how food is produced in the United States. Overall, the use of internet connected devices (internet of things or IoT) and artificial intelligence in precision agriculture or smart farming has helped to reduce costs, as well as increase yield and profitability.

Nevertheless, the wide use of technology in agriculture has brought a new threat to crop and livestock farming in the country: “cyber attacks”. The prefix “cyber” is associated with computers and over the last decades it has enriched our vocabulary to describe the growing and important virtual world. Examples of possible cyber attacks include: phishing attempts (e.g., malicious emails), malware or malicious software (e.g., virus, spyware, ransomware), denial of service attacks, etc. If you use IoT devices and/or smart technology in your farm and small business, it is susceptible to cyber attacks.